Category: Science

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The Decade in Space

Not sure if it was that Saturn-V rocket model I got for xmas when I was 10 years old or what, but by the time I left my 1st assignment with the newly formed USAF Space Command at Buckley ANGB in 1984, I was hooked.  Interest really ramped up for me during my time in Bosnia, where I helped establish Navy SATCOM assets bringing the HUMINT mission closer to real-time for our folks there on the ground.

This past decade was the 1st of the past five in which I was not recently directly involved with U.S. military space ops.  But I haven’t stopped following it, and probably never will.

Apollo 17 on the Launch Pad
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Space Race is On

This time we are competing with ourselves.  Ballistic, warhead-bearing spacecraft are about the only space-faring news coming from the other side of the planet these days.  Boeing and SpaceX are presently engaged in crew capsule ops, as candidates vying for NASA contracts to ferry ISS-bound astronauts.  SpaceX’ Dragon capsule should be ready for humans next year, and Boeing has the new Starliner almost ready for a first test flight tomorrow.

Atlas V with Starliner on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral.

(Late Update) “We have since experienced an off-nominal insertion and the spacecraft is in a stable position…”  Both the Dragon and Starliner have experienced significant anomalies in development.

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Climate Change

It might be melting the polar ice caps, but things are getting chilly up here in Colorado:

“Temperatures plunged around the state Tuesday morning, with -34 degrees reported in Waverly (5,321′), -32 degrees in Cowdrey (7,917′), -22 degrees in Tabernash (8,333′), and -18 degrees in Dillon (9,111′). It was even colder at Antero Reservoir, where early morning temperatures dipped down to a teeth-chattering -44 degrees at 8,942′ of elevation.”

We had snow on the ground three times before Thanksgiving this year – first time ever, in my recorded memory.  I remember a big Thanksgiving blizzard of ’84  at Buckley ANG base, but that was a total surprise immediately preceded by warm, sunny weather, as usual.  This year it just got cold and stayed cold – almost no autumn whatsoever.  A few of the leaves frozen on the trees before they finished falling are still up there.  Should be interesting to see what remains alive in the spring.

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One of a Kind

“This outsize influence explains why NASA broke the mold in the PSP name. It’s the only agency spacecraft ever named after a living person.”

Thinking outside the box is an understatement when it comes to getting the job done at the outer edge of the envelope.  Eugene Parkeris one of those rare scientists truly exemplifying that rare character trait. 

It’s got rings!    Mind Blowing Results!

NASA Science Mission Directorate Associate Administrator Thomas Zurbuchen (left), solar astrophysicist Eugene Parker (center) and United Launch Alliance President Tory Bruno stand in front of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe and its Delta IV Heavy rocket before the mission’s Aug. 12, 2018 launch.
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Interstellar Space

Putting things in perspective – if that is even remotely possible, considering the dearth of knowledge and vastly unlimited expanses in this area – we have finally scratched the surface of space.  Real analysis of the immense emptiness of space has begun, giving previously unknown perspective to our own heliosphere and how it interacts with the cosmos.  

Then I have to consider Neil Degrasse Tyson’s view or opinion on the whole space travel/exploration topic:  If we have the technology to go to Mars, why aren’t we prioritizing it’s use to fix our own broken planet first?